Others
Others is the generic term for entities that are not Gods, demi-gods, or Spirits, but rather entities that live either in the vast black Void between dimensions, or in another dimension. They are quite varied in appearance, power, and attitude, but it is fairly rare that one does not have its own agenda, and it is similarly rare that they mean well to anyone else. Though "Other" is the generic, there are specific classes of Other, divided up by power and placement. Demons The lowest rung of the Others hierarchy, they inhabit an astral plane slightly offset from reality. They are often kept in the company of higher Others as retainers, soldiers, or slaves, and they delight in passing their own misery on to whomever they can. Demon-summoning makes up a part of Abyssal Work as well as some ritual magic. Demons rarely appear on the physical plane, and are usually fairly weak if manifesting, less even than your average small spirit. However, ''summoning ''a demon gives them a metaphysical boost, and they can be fairly powerful in this case. Summoning them is a tricky business, dealing with them even more so, and in ritual magic it is seen by most to be a foolish if not downright dangerous practice. Due to their weakness, there are ways to trap Demons on the mortal plane - this is never a good idea. The Starving A demon known for his never ending hunger, he appeared in the Dybed with the idea of running a muck and devouring mortals, but quickly discovered he was unable to leave the mist, or return to his astral plain. And so, trapped in the fog for all eternity, he went mad. He always sits at the very edge of the fog, the farthest he is able to go, and he waits for any foolish mortals come by and dare one another to enter the mist. He appears as a ghostly, ominous figure just barley within sight of mortals looking towards the fog. He calls out to them, crying and begging for help. But once a curious mortal enters the mist, they see his true form. A gargantuan monster, a great bear standing upright with six heavy arms, eight alert eyes which pierce the opaque fog, and layers upon layers of horrible fangs. But a meager child is never enough to stave off his hunger, and he cries and bellows as his stomach forever pains him. Tall To the very north of the continent of Manorym, their lies the Roaring Cliffs and bleak tundra. The sea beyond this point is harsh, empty and lonely. Ships being lost to the sea or wrecked is an unfortunate occourance. More rarely however, and yet still common enough that there are a string of stories regarding it, a ship will be found tossed in the sea or run gently aground - but with its entire crew missing. The only ones with any clue as to the nature of these disappearances are the trolls of Enngevin Mourn. They know what it is, but they do not call it by name, for to name it is to bring it. They only say "it is tall, taller than the sea, and the spirits feel pain at its cry". On traditional days, the Mourn Trolls make small round boats of skin and bone, placing raw meat into them and pushing them out to sea, to appease it. Archdemons Archdemons are basically demons that have simply pushed past some sort of metaphysical 'point of no return' and become more powerful by orders of magnitude. Archdemons typically bully and employ lesser demons, and a demon that is summoned is obliged to tell their archdemon about it. Sometimes the archdemon may even accept a summoning themselves, but this is rare. While still much stronger, archdemons are out of their element when physically manifest, and can barely match up to decent-powered spirits. Aregnicht An archdemon often used as a threat for children who refuse to listen, this creature is a horror. Possessed of a heavyset man's body, but with a long giraffe's neck and a rhino head, but with a mouth full of literal steak-knives, always stained with blood. In one thick hand is a massive, notch-edged cleaver, allegedly used to chop apart its victims. It carries a large burlap sack over one shoulder, and it is constantly squirming and struggling, the muffled screams of children coming from inside. Children are often horrified by the idea that this being, with its long neck, can stare into the windows of kids sleeping on the second floor. Ghul Iblis A powerful archdemon who was summoned during the War by Oberod, acting as a sub-commander and personal bodyguard. He generally took the shape of a withered, desert-dry mummy or old man constantly caught in a dust-devil. The Houndsman The Houndsman is an arch demon said to resemble a man in heavy clothing, but with gleaming fangs, eyes of fire and skin covered in a shade darker than night. He is most feared for the fact that he holds sway over a very large number of lesser demons, of a sort known as "Dogs of Doom" or "Hellhounds". It is whispered that you can enter into a pact with the Houndsman and have his demonic charges tear apart your enemies - but the price for such a service must be high. Lagvyu Lagvyu is an archdemon who has a massive, hunched form covered in thick fur that covered his entire body. His head is grotequese and bestial, with two absolutely massive, curling horns. He is a slothful creature, but can make the air around him turn chill enough to slow anyone - and despite his lazy and disinterested demeanor, he has a deep craving for the flesh of mortals. Yelakalb Yelakalb is an archedemon who takes the form of a massive black dog made out of thick black smoke or mist. He has only one eye, a large burning green orb in one socket that gleams with fire. He is known for his ravenous appetite and low cunning, made apparent during the war. Yemmerakhi Bloodlusting Yemmerakhi is an archdemon that takes the form of a seductive and unnaturally beautiful woman with ashen coloured skin and raven locks of hair. Though mystically alluring she has sharp claws and teeth and a thirst for the blood of men. The claws and fangs are said to be hollow and can drain blood into her. Zerovageb Maidensbane Zerovageb is a mysterious and flamboyant demon. He appears like a large humanoid lizard, always dressed in the finest of clothes and always with a large, toothy grin. He fought on the side of the Others during the start of the war but eventually drew out and disappeared until things calmed down. He is known as a devious liar and lecherous fraud. Planewalker Planewalkers are the traveling salespeople of the various dimensional planes. They wander from place to place, following their own sense of self and generally sticking their noses into places they are typically not wanted. Though planewalkers are usually no stronger than an Archdemon, they are considered higher up on the ladder because, as their name suggests, they can walk through the Void and hop from dimension from dimension, and lose no power from it, as demons and their kin do. Baalor A demon-knight in elaborate, bladed armour, he took part in the War on the side of the Deep God and Goddess, and was one of the main vanguards of their forces. One of the main adversaries of Gevurah. Carcharoth Blood-Maw An incredibly powerful planewalker, nearly at the level of an Archetype. He was one of the foremost battle-champions of the Deep couple, an absolute terror on the battlefield, and responsible for much carnage. He appears as a huge, purple-skinned man with a wolf's head, blood continually dribbling from his mouth. He was the main enemy of Gevurah during the latter half of the War, but escaped when he was stabbed badly by Gevurah and had to retreat. Cho Cho is a planeswalker who keeps her features concealed under a long black hood and cape. She is known for her ability to get into and out of anywhere, slipping through dimensions, barriers and traps with casual ease. Oberod A planewalker not known for power, but for his ability to command many demons and summon them fully. He was a key figure for the Deep couple, acting as a tactician and sub-commander for them. Archetype Others These Others are much, much more powerful than planewalkers, representing the first step past the huge discrepancy in power between 'Lesser' Others and 'Higher' others. They represent a fundemental aspect of the universe, something set nearly in stone, and as such they have tremendous clout and force. Some of the more powerful ones in this category are comparable to Demi-gods in terms of raw force. The Clockwork Man An Other appearing as a man made of metal, full of clocksprings, constantly turning gears, and dials. He is an achetype of The Machine, and gifted at making all sorts of physically impossible machines. The Clockwork Man took part in the War of the Gods on the side of the Deep couple, making them an army of automatons constantly. At one point he disappeared from the War and reappeared later during it. Though unchanged, the quality of his work had for some reason been greatly impaired. The Hollow Queen Another archetype Other following the Deep couple in the War, the Hollow Queen is an archetype of The Empress. She appears as an ungodly pale woman with a wide-open mouth and eyes, both empty and completely black on the inside, three black portals in her face. Similarly to The Clockwork Man, she vanished halfway through the War, and came back much weakened, and half-insane. The Joker An archetype Other of The Fool, the Joker is far more attuned and much more dangerous. She fought in the War with the Deep God and Goddess, causing havoc with her malicious tricks and sabotaging. However, when the War began to turn, she left, escaping to wherever she first came from, and has not returned. She appears as a wild-haired woman in a jester's gaudy clothes, juggling-pins constantly spinning about her head. Obsidian Jack Like Abyss, this Other did not choose a side in the War, but only because both sides despised him. Appearing as an obsidian statue of a man with two faces and perfect symmetry from both sides and front/back, he would betray any forces he came across to the other, even kill them himself through backstabbing methods. Fitting, considering he is an archetype of The Traitor. The Sackman Though not very active in the War, he still fought with the Deep couple, mostly through entrapment, his eminent specialty. The Sackman appears as merely a vague humanoid shape tied up in a sack, who floats about, constantly struggling inside the sack, occasionally letting out cloth-muffled screams. One of the worst Others, he can catch anything that becomes afraid of him, even if only for a split-second, wrapping them in chains of fear that they themselves cannot break. An archetype of The Prisoner. Demon-Gods Inhabitants of a far-flung corner of a now-shattered reality, demon-gods are so incredibly powerful that they are worshipped as deities by demons, archdemons, and even many planewalkers. At one point there may have been as many as several hundred, but now a great number of them are imprisoned in the blackness of Abyss. Some of the greatest demon-gods were comparable to major-level demi-gods, a mere step away from full Godhood. Asura A demon-god in the shape of a six-armed man with a third eye on his forehead. One of the most powerful Demon-Gods, particularly skilled with demonic magic and spells. Asura was one of the foremost generals in the war the demon-gods and Outer Ones waged against Abyss, renowned not only for being a brilliant tactician and speaker, but also venerated as one of the five who contributed to Abyss's permanent injury. Bahmut A demon-god taking the form of a massive dragon with a thousand heads. Know in particular for being the third most powerful demon-god, and absolutely vicious in battle. Galthyas While not particularly powerful among their ranks, Galthyas was considered to be immensely important. Though fully able to shift forms, she usually took the form of a shining deity resembling a serpent made of blazing golden light. The lover of Bahmut and one of the five contributing to Abyss' injury. Pan A demon-god who had been exiled from their dimension, Pan took the shape of a monstrous beast-man with great horns and a half-goatish face. He also possessed goat's legs and eyes, along with an aura of intense, irrational fear. 'Panic' is the name derived from the incredible terror he created when arriving in the War on the Deep couple's side. A single wild yell from him could cause a full route. Oddly, Pan vanished from the War after only a few battles, and has never been seen in Veria since. Qem Not always considered a demon-god, she supposedly came from a far-flung reality. While originally beautiful and radiant, she 'fell', and later made her way to the demon-gods' dimension. Now, she appears as an angel with two pairs of scorched, black-feathered wings and horrible burn scars all over her body. She was the only demon-god to try and use diplomacy with Abyss, but ultimately was one of those who contributed to Its injury. Shuu-Nokkor A very powerful but self-indulgent demon-god capable of shape-shifting. Her favorite form was that of a giant, ink-skinned woman with three horns, several tails, four glowing purple eyes, and four arms. She was known particularly for never engaging in the war against Abyss, instead continuing with her usual hedonistic activities right up until the entire dimension was swallowed up. Thanatis Easily the most powerful of the demon-gods, Thanatis appeared typically as a man dressed in an overlarge black coat, a strange symbol burned into his forehead. He was incredibly strong, utterly immortal and with magic capable of destroying whole landscapes. Though very powerful, he never attempted to rule the demon-gods, instead staying as a hermit in a sub-planar chunk of half-broken reality. Outer Ones Outer ones are the absolute of Otherdom. Incredibly powerful entities existing not in any actual dimension but in the enormous black Void between them, Outer Ones are considered cosmic forces. They are worshipped even by the demon-gods, though most of them do not acknowledge this. In fact, most Outer Ones have totally alien thinking and morality, completely incomprehensible to linear minds. Alzthost A shapeless mass of constantly reforming flesh and bone and blood that constantly squirms through the Void. Alzthost was an unthinking, utterly senseless ball of physiological chaos. Most terrifying, it may have been something as simple as a demon or even a mortal being at one point, but somehow reached a critical level of biomass and mutation before finally ascending to a mad God. King Umbrine An absolutely giganitic Outer One, even by the cosmic measures they are viewed in, Umbrine was 'king' of the Outer Ones, in a way, an expression of the Void itself, and thus stretched over the whole of it, spanning between dimensions and encompassing whole realities. Appearing as an infinite mass of seething black tendrils and countless dark Eyes, Umbrine was worshipped heavily by the Demon-Gods. At one point, Umbrine was incredibly powerful, a cosmic force on a massive scale. During Abyss' war with the Demon Gods and their Outer One dieties, however, Umbrine was killed, or at least reduced to a comatose, rotting, almost-dead thing with no power of it's own. Now it serves as a mask and a puppet, hiding the true face and form of the Abyss. Ku-Vuen Ku-Vuen is a planetary system improbably found within the void. At its center is what can only be described as a massive pitch black star, burning even darker than the void. The "planets" that surround it are made of shapes near incomprehensible and covered with things that inspire madness by their very concept. These "planets" slowly orbit the dark star, eventually falling into it and being obliterated - yet more always appear on the edge of the system. Ku-Vuen is sentient, the planets its limbs essentially, despite the fact that each also has its own intelligence, tethered to the alien sentience of the black sun. Ku-vuen is possibly the representation of the infinity of existence. Odz-Algyas A strange, sentient statue living in a chunk of broken reality. Odz-Algyas has the most 'normal' mind among the Outer ones, it experiences emotions. It seems to be an androgynous statue of a humanoid possessing no face, a grinning skull, a skeletal body, and a long vertebral tail curved in an S behind it. Vjvuvjcjcfscht A massive Void-traveling storm made of crackling energy and thought, this Outer One is the size of a large star, whirling through the blackness constantly and madly. Zechecheknen An Outer One capable of manipulating temporal streams and offshoots, possibly even a representation of Time itself. It is in fact an absolutely gigantic, constantly shifting and flowing, ephermal being that lives in the Void, nearly at the Edge.